Terming the spread of narcotics in Punjab a serious concern, Governor Gulab Chand Kataria said getting the youth addicted to drugs was a weapon being used by adversaries to target the future generation and weaken the country.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the 10th edition of the three-day Military Literature Festival in Chandigarh on November 13, the Governor said Punjab had a rich history, but drug addiction was hollowing out the state.
“The enemy has understood that India cannot be defeated by weapons in a war, but it can be weakened by targeting its youth,” he said.
Stating that arms and drugs were being smuggled into the country from Pakistan using drones, the Governor said Pakistan did not have the means and courage to carry out such activities on its own, which pointed towards a larger nexus of several powers working to destabilise India.
He said while soldiers stood firm at the frontiers to guard the borders, it was the duty of every citizen, across all spheres, to work earnestly for the development and progress of the country.
Commending the Armed Forces for their role in safeguarding the nation, the Governor said India had extensive experience of fighting wars, beginning soon after Independence. The 1962 India-China War had been a learning experience for the nation, while during the 1965 India-Pakistan War, the Armed Forces were better prepared. Their capabilities and strength were evident during the 1971 war. Even during Operation Sindoor, the world witnessed India’s prowess and strides in self-reliance, he said.
He also said a nation’s biggest strength lay in its literature and heritage, which must be nurtured and passed down through generations. Tales of valour, he added, must be shared with the younger generation.
Pointing out that the military had undergone a revolution, with asymmetric warfare now becoming the norm rather than the exception, Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari said the Russia-Ukraine war, with Ukraine holding on against Russia, had set new benchmarks in asymmetric warfare.
Similarly, during the conflict involving Iran, the US and Israel, Iran had used asymmetry to its advantage and made its adversaries pay a price for the invasion. This, he added, had also raised questions about the relevance of multi-million-dollar platforms, which had been the mainstay of military-industrial complexes across the world and, according to some accounts, had also driven conflicts globally.
Flagging frontier dual-use technologies with sustainable military applications, Tewari said that for 69 of the 74 such technologies required by China, the US was its only peer competitor.
He added that India needed to seriously deliberate on how technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, the Internet of Things and genomics would shape the future of warfare.
He also raised the issue of defence spending, pointing out that China spent more than the next 22 Asia-Pacific economies combined. This expenditure asymmetry needed to be considered in view of the fact that China’s rise had been less than peaceful, he said.
Lt Gen TS Shergill (retd), chairman of the Military Literature Festival Association, gave an overview of India’s military heritage and discussed contemporary geopolitical developments that had a profound impact on the existing world order.
